Flowers and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Innaminka, SA

Flowers. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, 120km W of Wanaaring, NSW

Plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: M Crisp, Koonamore Station, SA

Carpet. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Joe McAuliffe, Sturt National Park, NSW

Common Name

Lilac Darling Pea, Dwarf Swainson-pea, Dwarf Swainsona

Family

Fabaceae

Notes

Perennial forb, prostrate or to 30cm tall.  Leaves alternating up the stems, each composed of 5-17 leaflets.  Leaflets 0.5-3cm long, 1-5mm wide, linear to flat, densely to sparsely hairy, with blunt, pointed, or notched tips.  Flowers mauve to dark reddish purple, occasionally white or yellow, pea shaped with 5 petals, two almost joined together.  Flowers in clusters of 1-10 flowers, the stalks arising from the bases of the leaves. Endangered Vic.  Threatened list Vic.

Description and photo (as Swainsona phacoides ssp. phacoides) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 419

PlantNET description:   http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Swainsona~phacoides